Habs sign forward Alexander Radulov, goaltender Al Montoya
Canadiens look to KHL scoring star to help boost offence
The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Alexander Radulov and goaltender Al Montoya to one-year contracts on Friday as NHL free agency began.
Radulov, 29, scored 23 goals in 53 games for CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League last season. The Russian added 42 assists and tied for third in the KHL playoffs with 16 points as his club reached the Gagarin Cup final.
Radulov last appeared in the NHL in 2011-12 with the Nashville Predators where he scored three goals and four assists in nine regular season games before being suspended from the team in the post-season.
The 31-year-old Montoya was 12-7-3 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 25 games last year for the Florida Panthers.
The Canadiens struggled to find consistency in net last season after star goaltender Carey Price went down with a knee injury in November.
Mike Condon, Dustin Tokarski and Ben Scrivens were all rotated through the crease for Montreal, but none of them could solidify the No. 1 role.
Montoya is 55-40-18 record in 136 career games since making his NHL debut with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008-09. He's also suited up for the New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets.